On Tuesday July 11, the fabulously talented women of the Sephardic community in Deal, New Jersey unleashed their creative table setting talents to amaze hundreds of Jewish women who arrived to support the Morris I. Franco Community Cancer Center. This event, staged on the spacious summer porch of the home of our gracious hosts,Charles and Ariella Ben Dayan, was a competition that consisted of eight teams of 1-5 women per team. Each team was given a random holiday theme, in which they created a unique table setting. The basic rule was that they must use a 48 inch round table that was supplied to them, and from there on in, the sky was the limit. An impressive lunch, chinese auction gifts, and demonstrations were also featured during the day. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so go on and feast your eyes!!!!

Rosh Hashanah

Table by:

Marcy Smeke, Pauline Assa, Michal Gindi, Grace Chehebar, Tunee Missry

This Rosh Hashanah table is truly a work of art and imagination. The table was lined with a vintage table cloth. Next, the girls layered the table with bamboo place mats, a gold woven place mat, green glass charger, gold dish, a hand painted gold leaf salad plate, embroidered leaves napkin and gold flatware. Note the symbolic silver apple that tops off the whole place setting. Of course we “dip the apple in the honey” to symbolize the hopefully sweet upcoming New Year.

Are you starting to get a little anxious about when is Rosh Hashanah this year of 2011? Well, mark your calendars and get back on the beach! You’ve got till Sept 28 at sundown to start dipping those apples…..

Above: Note the LIVE FISH swimming in the elongated green vases. A genius idea!!! Of course the fish are a perfect symbol of The Jewish New Year, as many people serve the head of the fish on the Rosh Hashanah table to symbolize the fact that we should be the “Rosh” (the head)and not the ” Zanav”(the tail).

The fish also symbolize our custom of “Tashlich” in which we throw our sins into a live body of water that contains fish.

The photo above was taken by Norma Cohen just seconds before an ocean breeze sent one of the vases toppling over. Thankfully Grace Chehebar saved the day and scooped all of the flopping fish off of the porch and flung them into the second vase.

Note the Shofar candlesticks above!!!

Above :I LOVE the silver apple casually placed in to the bowl of green apples!!!

Below: Don’t miss the fresh honey oozing out of the honey combs! (The girls whispered to me that the honey combs can be bought HERE .)

In my opinion, the real hit of the whole table was the apple that doubled as a honey jar. Pauline Assa explained her unique Rosh Hashanah invention to me in 4 easy steps:

Take an apple and slightly slice off the bottom so that it sits upright.(leave a flat bottom so the the honey doesn’t leak out)

Scoop with a melon baller

Swish some lemon juice around the apple sides and top (this may be done the night before the holiday).

Fill with honey.

HOW COOL????

Stay tuned to The Jewish Hostess for more of the fabulous Table Settings displayed by the Jewish women who came together for the Morris I. Franco Community Cancer Center on July 12 2011!!! (Coming up…… Sukkot, Shabbat, Chanuka, A Garden Party, Shavuot, and Passover……..)